This invention relates to a unique apparatus and method of providing sterile, non-pyrogenic intravenous solutions and water for injection.
Both manual and automatically driven filters have been known in the art for quite some time. For example, automatically powered filter and pump combinations have been designed to be part of a movable platform upon which the filter is positioned with the electric motor underneath the filter shielded from spray by a cover. Such a device is disclosed in Alsop, U.S. Pat. No. 2,325,169 which utilizes removable pads for gross filtering of fluids, primarily used in connection with plating baths. A variety of non-electric water filters have been previously disclosed. For instance, Quinn, U.S. Pat. No. 2,566,371 discloses a portable drinking water filter system usable for military operations. The device has a lens built into the top of the system whereby a visual examination of the water before and after filtering is made possible. Pall, U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,859 discloses a portable filter which is powered by the user sucking water through the filtering device. Additionally, the Coppla device, U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,333, discloses a portable filter system for back packers which allegedly weighs less than a pound and is manually operated by a hand pump. Also, Sylva, U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,347, discloses a small cup sized, portable, hand pumped, filter system designed to provide up to one liter of clean drinkable water before the filter clogs.
The purpose of all these prior art devices was to provide drinking water. None of the electrically powered and manually operated filter systems known in the art, however, can produce injectable sterile non-pyrogenic water for injection. Further, none of the prior art devices are capable of producing significant amounts of fluid, injectable or otherwise. Thus, there is a need in the art for providing a portable intravenous solution device which can produce sterile, non-pyrogenic intravenous solutions and water for injection either for introduction into prepositioned dry intravenous bags containing dried drugs which are reconstituted by the introduction of this sterile liquid or for use directly for irrigation of wounds on site. It, therefore, is an object of this invention to provide an improved portable intravenous solutions and water for injection apparatus and method for the provision of large quantities of sterile, non-pyrogenic water for injection and intravenous solutions.